WILLIAM McKINLEY 



A linttorial 





GassXly^// 
Book_^ ^ 




z 



OFFICIAI-. DOpNAXION, 




President tSqy-iqoi. 



MEMORIAL OBSERVANCES 



WILLIAM McKINLEY 



CITY OF WORCESTER 



PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE 
CITY COUNCIL 



WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS 
MCMII 



NOV 15 1902 
D. of D, 



L 



n \ I 



\ A' 




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Contents* 



Assassination of the President, 
Death of the President, 
Proclamations, ..... 
The President's Funeral, . 
Action of the City Council, 
Mayor O'Connell's Remarks, 
Memorial Exercises in Mechanics Hall, 
Hon. Geo. F. Hoar's Address, . 
Dr. G. Stanley Hall's Address, 

MONSIGNOR CoNATY's TRIBUTE, 

Hon. John R. Thayer's Address, 
Press Reports, ..... 



lO, II 
12 
12 
13 
17 
23 
29 

34 

43 
49 



Slupntg-fiftli J^rpBtiipnt 
ISnitpb S>tatPH 



Snnt in Ntlra. Wi}ia 

Danuaru 29. 1B43 

iipli tn luffaln. J^pte ^nrk 

Sr^itpmbpr 14. 1901 



Mnuuuninuiion of tiir ]|tt!Sitrirnt. 

Buffalo, Sept. 6. 

President McKinley was shot and seriously wounded by a 
would-be assassin while having a reception in the Temple of 
Music at the Pan-American Exposition a few minutes after four 
o'clock this afternoon. 

One shot took effect in the right breast, the other in the 
abdomen. 

The first wound is not of a serious nature, and the bullet has 
been extracted. The latter pierced the abdominal wall and has 
not been located. 

At 10.40 p.m. the following bulletin by the attending physicians 
was the only indication of the President's condition : 

The President is rallying and is resting comfortably at 
10.50 p.m. Temperature, 100.4 degrees; pulse, 124; res- 
piration, 24. 

(Signed) P. M. RIXEY, 

M. D. MANN, 
R. PARK, 
H. MYNTER, 
EUGENE WASDIN. 
(Countersigned) GEORGE B. CORTELYOU, 

Secretary to the President. 

Buffalo, Sept. 7. 

The President's physicians issued the following bulletin at 
I a.m. : 

The President is free from pain and resting well. Tempera- 
ture, 100.2; pulse, 120; respiration, 24. 

MiLBURN House, Buff^^lo, Sept. 8. 

At 1.45 a.m. it was stated that the condition of the President 
was unchanged. 

MiLBURN House, Buffalo, Sept. 9, 1.30 a.m. 

No additional bulletin has been issued by the President's 
physicians, and none is expected until after three o'clock. The 
condition of the President is reported as unchanged. 



William McKinley 



MiLBURN House, Buffalo, Sept. 9, 9.30 p.m. 

The latest bulletin of the night on the President's condition 
follows : 

The President's condition continues favorable. Pulse, 112; 
temperature, loi ; respiration, 27. 

(Signed) P. M. RIXEY, 

M. D. MANN, 
ROSWELL PARK, 
HERMAN MYNTER, 
EUGENE WASDIN, 
CHARLES McBURNEY. 
GEORGE B. CORTELYOU, Secretary to the President. 



Milburn House, Buffalo, Sept. 10. 

The following bulletin was issued by the President's 
physicians at 10.30 p.m. : ^ 

The condition of the President is unchanged in all important 
particulars. His temperature is 100.6; pulse, 114; respira- 
tion, 28. 

When the operation was done on Friday, it was noted that the 
bullet had carried with it a short distance beneath the skin a 
fragment of the President's coat. This foreign material was, of 
course, removed, but a slight irritation of tissues was produced, 
the evidence of which was apparent only to-night. 

It has been necessary, on account of this slight disturbance, 
to remove a few stitches and partially open the skin wound. 
This incident can not give rise to other complications, but it is 
communicated to the public, as the surgeons in attendance wish 
to make their bulletins entirely frank. In consequence of this 
separation of the edges of the surface wound, the healing of the 
same will be somewhat delayed. 

The President is now well enough to begin to take nourish- 
ment by the mouth in the form of pure beef juice, 

(Signed) P. M. RIXEY, 

M. D. MANN, 
ROSWELL PARK, 
HERMAN MYNTER, 
CHARLES McBURNEY. 
GEORGE B. CORTELYOU, Secretary to the President. 



A Memorial 



MiLBURN House, Buffalo, Sept. ii. 

The following bulletin was issued by the President's 
physicians at lo p.m. : 

The President's condition continues favorable. Blood count 
corroborates clinical evidence of absence of any blood poison- 
ing. He is able to take more nourishment and relish it. Pulse, 
120; temperature, 100.4. 

(Signed) P. M. RIXEY, 

M. D. MANN, 
ROSWELL PARK, 
HERMAN MYNTER, 
EUGENE WASDIN, 
CHARLES McBURNEY, 
GEORGE B. CORTELYOU, Secretary to the President. 

MiLBURN House, Buffalo, Sept. 13. 

President McKinley experienced a sinking spell shortly after 
two o'clock. The physicians are administering restoratives to 
him with the hope of reviving him. 

A general call has gone out to the physicians and the mem- 
bers of the Cabinet now in the city. 

Dr. Park reached the house at 2.50, and shortly after him 
came Secretaries E. A. Hitchcock and James Wilson. 

The Associated Press has been authorized to say that Presi- 
dent McKinley is critically ill. 

At three o'clock all of the physicians were gathered at the 
bedside of the President. It was stated that digitalis was being 
administered to the President. 

Several messengers were hurried from the house, and it was 
understood that they carried dispatches to the absent members 
of the Cabinet and the kin of the President. 

Additional lights burn for those in the Milburn home, and the 
household is astir. Beyond the statement that the President is 
critically ill, no further announcement has been made, but it is 
manifest that the wounded President faces a grave and menac- 
ing crisis. 

Alarm can be read in the actions of those to whose nursing 
and care he is committed. 

The scene about the house is a dramatic one. The attendants 
can be seen hurrying about behind the unshaded windows, and 
messengers come and go hastily through the guarded door. 

Mrs. Neell, one of the trained nurses suddenly called, arrived 
at 3.15. She sprang from an electric carriage and ran down the 
sidewalk to the house. 



William ^IcKinley 



mtnt"^ of if^t H^vtniXitnU 

Milburn House, Buffalo, Sept. 14. 

President McKinley died at 2.15 a.m. 

He had been unconscious since 7.50 p.m. His last conscious 
hour on earth was spent with the wife to whom he devoted a 
hfetime of care. He died unattended by a minister of the 
gospel, but his last words were an humble submission to the will 
of the God in whom he believed. 

He was reconciled to the cruel fate to which an assassin's 
bullet had condemned him, and faced death in the same spirit 
of calmness and poise which has marked his long and honorable 
career. His last conscious words, reduced to writing by Dr. M. 
D. J\Iann, who stood at his bedside when they were uttered, 
were as follows : 

"Good-bye, all ; good-bye. It is God's way, His will be done." 

The immediate cause of the President's death is undetermined. 

His physicians disagree, and it will possibly require an 
autopsy to fix finally the cause. 

The rage of the people of Buffalo against the President's 
assassin when they learned last night that he was dying was 
boundless. Thousands surrounded the jail, and the entire police 
force of the city and two regiments of military were utilized to 
insure his protection. 



Upon learning of the President's death bells all over the city 
were tolled for one hour, which awoke Worcester to the grave 
news. 

The chimes of Plymouth Church played "Nearer, My God, to 
Thee," "O, Paradise," and "Lead, Kindly Light." 

Buffalo, Sept. 14. 

Theodore Roosevelt was tragically elevated to the chief 
magistracy of the American Republic by the death of President 
McKinley. 

He had been President under the Constitution and law of the 
land since the minute the martyred President ceased to live. 
All the duties and powers of the office had devolved upon him. 
but he was powerless as the humblest citizen to exercise one of 
them until he had complied with the constitutional provision 



A Memorial 



requiring him to take a prescribed oath to support and defend 
the Constitution and laws of the United States. The oath was 
administered at 3.30 p.m. by Judge John Hazel. 

Buffalo, Sept. 15. 

The coroner of Erie County to-day issued the following 
certificate of death of the late President : 



City of Buffalo. 
Bureau of Vital Statistics. 

County of Erie, State of New York. 

CERTIFICATE AND RECORD OF DEATH OF 
WILLIAM McKINLEY. 

"I hereby certify that he died on the fourteenth day of 
September, 1901, about 2.15 o'clock a.m., and that to the 
best of my knowledge and belief the cause of death was as 
here underwritten. 

"Cause: gangrene of both walls of stomach and pan- 
creas following gunshot wound. 

"Witness my hand this fourteenth day of September, 
1901 . 

(Signed) H. G. MATZINGER, M. D., 

H. R. GAYLORD, M. D., 
JAMES F. WILSON, Coroner." 



Date of death, Sept. 14, 1901 ; age, 58 years, 7 months, 15 

days. 
Color, white. Married. Occupation, President of the 

United States. Birthplace, Niles, Ohio. 
How long in United States, if foreign born, . 

Father's name, William McKinley. 
Father's birthplace, Pennsylvania, United States. 
Mother's name, Nancy McKinley. 
Mother's birthplace, Ohio, United States. 
Place of death, 1168 Delaware Avenue. 
Last previous residence, Washington, D. C. 
Direct cause of death, gangrene of both walls of stomach 

and pancreas following gunshot wounds. 



lo William McKinley 



JJtoclamatfon ti|> tf^t ^vmi^tni of tf^t 
mmttti States. 

By the President of the United States of America — 
A Proclamation. 

A terrible bereavement has befallen our people. The Presi- 
dent of the United States has been struck down — a crime com- 
mitted not only against the chief magistrate, but against every 
law-abiding and liberty-loving citizen. 

President McKinley crowned a life of largest love for his 
fellowmen, of most earnest endeavor for their welfare, by a 
death of Christian fortitude ; and both the way in which he lived 
his life and the way in which, in the supreme hour of trial, he 
met his death, will remain forever a precious heritage of our 
people. 

It is meet that we as a nation express ovir abiding love and 
reverence for his life, our deep sorrow for his untimely death. 

Now, therefore, I, Theodore Roosevelt, do appoint Thursday 
next, September nineteenth, the day in which the body of the 
dead President will be laid in its last earthly resting-place, as a 
day of mourning and prayer throughout the United States. I 
earnestly recommend all the people to assemble on that day in 
their respective places of divine worship, there to bov/ down in 
submission to the will of Almighty God, and to pay out of full 
hearts their homage of love and reverence to the great and good 
President, whose death has smitten the nation with bitter grief. 

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused 
the seal of the United States to be affixed. 

Done at the city of Washington, the fourteenth day of 
September, A. D., one thousand nine hundred and one, and of 
the independence of the United States the one hundred and 
twenty-sixth. 

THEODORE ROOSEVELT, 
(Seal) By the President. 

John Hay, Secretary of State. 



A Memorial ii 



jjtoclatuatfon tig tftr ^obcritDt of 

The President has appointed Thursday next, September 
nineteenth, the "day in which the body of the dead President 
will be laid in its last earthly resting-place, as a day of mourning 
and prayer throughout the United States," and it is my wish to 
supplement his recommendation by this appeal to the people of 
the Commonwealth. 

I earnestly recommend that business be suspended on that 
day, that the people gather in their usual places of worship to 
pay homage to the virtues and public services of President 
McKinley, and invoke the protection and guidance of Almighty 
God for our beloved country, and for him who has had thrust 
upon him so suddenly the great responsibilities of the office of 
President. 

(Signed) W. MURRAY CRANE, 

Governor. 



Jjroclamatton t>s tijt Jilagor of Wiovttnttv. 

Mayor's Office, Sept. i6, 1901. 

In furtherance of the proclamation of the President of the 
United States, and that of the Governor of Massachusetts 
appointing Thursday next, September nineteen, "the day on 
which the body of the dead President will be laid in his last 
earthly resting-place, as a day of mourning and prayer," I 
earnestly recommend to the people of Worcester that all busi- 
ness be suspended on that day, and that the request of both 
proclamations be observed as far as possible. 

I hereby direct that the City Hall be closed on that day and 
that all work in the several departments of the city be sus- 
pended, and that the public schools be closed throughout the 
entire day. I would recommend to the teachers of the schools 
that they lay aside the ordinary school work for at least a 
portion of Wednesday afternoon, and that the time be devoted 
to inculcating lessons from the life and character of the nation's 
dead. 

PHILIP J. O'CONNELL, Mayor. 



12 William McKinley 

Department of State, Washington, Sept. 15. 

The remains of the late President of the United States, after 
lying in state in the City Hall of Buffalo during the afternoon of 
Sunday, Sept. 15, will be removed to Washington by special 
train on Monday, Sept. 16, leaving Bufifalo at 8.30 a.m., and 
reaching Washington at 9 p.m. The remains will then be 
carried, under escort of a squadron of United States Cavalry, to 
the executive mansion, where they will rest until 9 o'clock in the 
morning of Tuesday, Sept. 17. They will then be carried to the 
Capitol, accompanied by a military and civil escort, the details 
of which will be given in a separate notice. The remains will 
there lie in state. Religious services will be held in the rotunda 
of the Capitol on Wednesday at twelve o'clock noon. At one 
o'clock the remains, under a military escort, will be transferred 
to a funeral car and carried to Canton, O., via the Pennsylvania 
Railroad, arriving there on Thursday at 1 1 a.m., where arrange- 
ments for the final sepulchre will be committed to the charge of 
the citizens of Canton under the direction of a committee to be 
selected by the Mayor of that city. No ceremonies are expected 
in the cities and towns along the route of the funeral train 
beyond the tolling of bells. 

(Signed) JOHN HAY, 

Secretarv of State. 



^ttion of tfjr eitj? eounciL 

A special session of the City Council was held on Saturday, 
Sept. 14, at twelve o'clock noon, pursuant to a call from Mayor 
O'Connell, to take action on the death of President McKinley. 

The Aldermen and members of the Common Council met in 
their respective chambers. 

President Clee of the Common Council ofitered the following 
order, which was adopted in concurrence : 

Ordered, That the Mayor be and is hereby requested to have 
the City Hall draped and flags displayed at half-mast until after 
the funeral of President William McKinley, and that the bells of 
the city be tolled during the hour set apart for the funeral. 

The City Council then assembled in joint convention. 



A Memorial 13 

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the City Council : I have 
summoned you here to-day as the official representatives of the 
city to give a fitting expression to the universal feeling of sad- 
ness and grief that fills the heart of every citizen of Worcester 
on this sorrowful occasion. When the news reached Worcester 
over the wires that the President had been shot down at the 
hand of an assassin, it did not seem possible and we could not 
fully realize it. We did not believe that in the midst of the 
peace, happiness and prosperity that everywhere prevailed 
throughout the country there could be found one man so base as 
to entertain for a single moment such an idea, but when the news 
was confirmed and we learned the terrible truth, you and I and 
all of us felt that we, too, had been shot down, that the govern- 
ment we loved had been struck at by an enemy, that peace, pros- 
perity and the maintenance of law and order had been dealt a 
cruel blow, and that another name was to be added to the list of 
those who will ever be remembered as martyrs to their country. 

Day after day we have waited anxiously for news from the 
bedside of the President. We have prayed and hoped that he 
might be spared to his country, but an all-wise and divine 
Providence has decreed it otherwise, and we bow in humble 
submission to His will. 

William McKinley is dead, but his memory will live forever 
in the hearts of his fellow countrymen. He was one of the best 
representatives of American manhood. He was a brave soldier, 
a brilliant and forceful orator, a patriotic statesman, and a great 
President. He was a self-made man, a kind, affectionate and 
dutiful son, and a tender, loving husband. He was the Presi- 
dent of the whole people, and as such he was loved, honored and 
respected by the American nation to an extent hardly equaled 
by any of his illustrious predecessors. In this hour of the coun- 
try's great sorrow let us draw some comfort from the thought 
that was so fittingly given expression to by another martyred 
President, James A. Garfield, on learning that Abraham Lincoln 
had been shot down : "God reigns, and the government at Wash- 
ington still lives." 

Alderman Lancaster offered the following resolutions, which 
were adopted : 

The City Council of Worcester, in joint convention assembled, 
having heard of the untimely death of President William 
McKinley, which occurred at an early hour this morning, in the 



14 William McKinley 

city of Buffalo, desires to place itself upon record, in expression 
of its deepest sorrow. 

Resolved, That we are therefore assembled here to-day in 
recognition of the sad event, that a chosen and trusted leader 
has fallen, and that this great loss touches very tenderly the 
hearts of eighty millions of our people. 

For the third time within less than forty years the nation has 
been bereft of a patriotic and beloved magistrate by the wanton 
violence of a criminal citizen. 

Resolved, That in common with our fellow citizens in all parts 
of the United States, we mourn for the loss of a great American. 
The life of President McKinley presents an example of 
patriotism, of statesmanship, of nobility of soul, of kindness of 
heart, of disinterestedness of purpose, and of sublimest Christian 
faith, that will be an enduring monument to his greatness, and 
an inspiration to his fellow countrymen during the ages to come. 

Resolved, That his character commanded respect, and his mar- 
velous tact and ability in making personal friends among all 
with whom he came in contact will always be remembered. He 
will live in the hearts of the people, and their sympathy will go 
out now with peculiar tenderness toward her who is so 
grievously stricken. 

Resolved, That these resolutions be spread upon the records of 
the City Council of the city of Worcester. 

Alderman Edward J. McMahon seconded the motion for the 
adoption of the resolutions. He said : 

It is indeed a painful pleasure to rise at this moment to second 
the motion offered by the Alderman from Ward i. 

The President of the United States is dead. Beloved by his 
fellow countrymen, and in the very fullness of his manhood, he 
has been suddenly stricken down by the hand of an assassin, and 
to-day in apparent victory the red flag of anarchy is floating 
above us. I say apparent victory because, after all, there is no 
victory where right and justice do not prevail, and where such 
dastardly acts as the assassination of President McKinley are 
committed. The wretched man whose hand has taken the life 
of the chief magistrate of the nation, and whose foul act may 
have been prompted by a desire to strike a blow at the republic, 
can not even boast that he has effected even the slightest injury 
to the stability of our national institutions. For as our good 
and venerable Senator Hoar said to us a moment ago, in the 
Mayor's office, "The government will still go on." We, in this 
country enjoy liberty under law unparalleled in the history of 



A Memorial 



nations, and the man who would seek to imperil the 
peace or progress of our country is worthy only of the con- 
demnation and execration of the American people. 

As we stand with bowed heads and sorrowing hearts at 
the bier of the nation's dead, we keenly realize that no matter 
what divisions, among our people, party politics may require, 
in this our common bereavement there are to-day no Demo- 
crats, and there are no Republicans. 

Eighty million American people are united to-day in paying 
mournful tribute to the memory of him who has been called by 
Senator Hoar "the best beloved President of the United States." 

While love compels us to mourn our irreparable loss, and jus- 
tice demands that we condemn the foulest crime in the nation's 
history, yet must we not forget to bow with submission to the 
omnipotent will of Him who is the Ruler of the Universe, and 
to pray to Him that He may continue to protect and preserve 
us a nation. 

This is neither the time nor place for extended eulogy. I am 
certain that the committee having the matter in charge will 
arrange for the holding of a suitable memorial service, at which 
our fellow -citizens will have an opportunity to express the 
universal sorrow which this great calamity has caused our 
country. 

In closing, gentlemen, permit me to quote from a poem 
written and read by Rev. John J. AicCoy of Chicopee at a 
memorial service in Worcester twenty years ago, after the death 
of President Garfield : 

" 'Let us be glad, then, not mournful; 

The man, not the nation, is dead. 
His name, now, is national heritage. 

And with glory of country is wed. 
'Tis a sad cry, this cry of the widow! 

But cross and crown is an old, old tale, 
The man went to death for the people, 

And hers is a Maccabee's wail.' " 

Alderman Lichtenfels offered the following, which was also 
adopted : 

Ordered, That a public meeting of the citizens of Worcester be 
held in Mechanics Hall on the day of the funeral of President 
William McKinley, and that a committee of nine be appointed, to 
consist of four members of the Board of Aldermen, and five 
members of the Common Council, including the President of 
each Board, the committees to be appointed by the President of 



i6 



William McKinley 



each Board, to act in conjunction with the Mayor in making 
arrangements for the meeting, and for any other meeting which 
may be held. The following were constituted a joint committee 
under this order : 

W. LEVI BOUSQUET, 

JOHN E. LANCASTER, 
EDWARD J. McMAHON, 
WM. G. LICHTENFELS, 

Aldermen. 
FREDERICK CLEE, 
GEORGE L. CLARK, 
OLAF G. HEDLUND, 
JOHN J. POWER, 
EMIL ZAEDER, 

Councilmen. 




MECHANICS HALL, SEPTEMBER 19, 1901 

Presiding Officer, Mayor Philip J. O'Connell 



FROM THE -REQUIEM," .... Br^bms 

FESTIVAL CHORUS 

PRAYER, . . . Rev. Geo. W. King, Ph.D. 

ADDRESS, .... Hon. George F. Hoar 

ADDRESS, ... G. Stanley Hall, LL.D. 

"NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE," . . Bet/ia^iy 

FESTIVAL CHORUS 

ADDRESS, . Rt. Rev. Mgr. Thomas J. Conaty, D.D. 

FROM -ST. PAUL," . . . Mendelssohn 

festival chorus 

ADDRESS, .... Hon. John R. Thayer 

PRAYER, . . Rt. Rev. Mgr. Thomas Griffin, D.D. 

-AMERICA," Smith 

festival CHORUS AND AUDIENCE 



The seats on the platform were occupied by representative 
citizens of Worcester in every walk of life, among those there 
being the following : 



Hon. E. B. Stoddard 
Hon. F. A. Harrington 
Hon. Henry A. Marsh 
Hon. A. B. R. Sprague 
Hon. David Manning 
J. Lewis Ellsworth 
George C. Hunt 
Peter F. Sullivan 



Mark N. Skerrett 
John G. Hagberg 
Arthur M. Taft 
Homer R. King 
Alderman W. Levi Bousquet 
Alderman Edwin G. Barrett 
Alderman W. G. Lichtenfels 
Alderman H. A. Harrington 



William McKinley 



Alderman Edw. J. McMahon 
Alderman Lucian B. Stone 
Alderman John W. Mitchell 
Alderman Louis J. Kendall 
Councilman George L. Clark 
Councilman James P. Crosby 
Councilman Olaf G. Hedlund 
Councilman Lewis J. Terrill 
Councilman George N. White 
Councilman John H. Connelly 
Councilman Emil Zaeder 
Councilman Jeremiah Mara 
Councilman Jos. P. Morrissey 
Councilman J. Louis Murphy 
Councilman John J. Power 
Councilman William J. Bragg 
Councilman Frederick Clee 
Councilman Thos. F. Harney 
Councilman Geo. M. Wright 
Councilman Julian F. Bigelow 
Councilman David A. Donley 
Councilman C. D. Mixter 
Councilman Frank L. Stetson 
Councilman George H. Nutt 
Councilman Albert E. Newton 
Councilman Nelson H. Davis 
Councilman Charles S. Holden 
E. H. Towne 
W. Henry Towne 
S. Hamilton Coe 
Frank B. Hall 
J. P. Munroe 

Rev. Dr. Spenser B. Meeser 
Rev. Charles W. Anderson 
Rev. Hiram Conway 
Rev. Henry E. Whyman 
Rev. A. W. Hitchcock 
Rev. Dr. Willard Scott 
Rev. Austin S. Garver 
Rev. Frank L. Phalen 
Rev. Morris Kaplan 
Rev. C. George Kaestner 
Rev. William C. Hickey of 

Clinton 
Rev. J. J. Lunney 



Rev. William Adrian 

Rev. J. F. X. Teehan 

Rev. Bernard S. Conaty 

Rev. Dr. George W. King 

Rev. Henry Hague 

Rev. Henry B. Washburn 

Rev. James P. Tuite 

Rev. James M. Cruse 

Rev. Joseph Brouillet 

Rev. Daniel F. McGillicuddy 

Rev. J. Edward Perrault 

Rev. D. H. O'Neill 

Rev. J. F. Hanselman, S. J. 

Rabbi Edward Rubinstein 
Rev. J. A. Langevin 
Rev. Joseph Jaksztys 
Rev. Dr. J. M. Van Horn 
Rev. M. T. O'Brien 
Rev. Vincent E. Tomlinson 
Rev. A. C. Thompson 
Rev. E. W. Phillips 
Rev. George S. Dodge 
Hon. Stephen Salisbury 
AVilliam A. Lytle 
Samuel R. Heywood 
O. W. Norcross 
Philip W. Moen 
C. Henry Hutchins 

Rufus B. Fowler 

Hon. Charles G. Washburn 

Col. Samuel E. Winslow 

Gen. Robert H. Chamberlain 

T. Evarts Greene 

Charles F. Aldrich 

Col. T. S. Johnson 

Hon. William T. Forbes 

Gen. Rockwood Hoar 

Gen. Fred W. Wellington 

Col. E. R. Shumway 

Charles A. Chase 

George H. Hathorne 

Col. E. T. Russell 

Henry S. Pratt 

Edwin P. Curtis 

B. W. Childs 



A Memorial 



19 



James F. Carberry 
David F. O'Connell 
Dr. T. J. Barrett 
Richard Healy 
Enoch Earle 
James Early 
Lyman A. Ely 
G. Henry Whitcomb 
Tohn R. Back 
B. W. Potter 
E. M. Woodward 
O. B. Hadwen 
Webster Thayer 
Homer P. Lewis 
Joseph Jackson 

E. R. Goodwin 
Dr. John C. Berry 
Rev. Lyman ]\Ievis 
Patrick Conatv 

M. B. Lamb 

Hon. A. S. Pinkerton 

F. H. Dewey 

Dr. Lamson Allen 
Caleb Colvin 
W. H. Blodget 
R. James Tatman 
Henrv F. Harris 



W. W. Johnson 

Milton P. Higgins 

L E. Comins 

Charles E. Squier 

Daniel W. Darling 

George W. Mackintire 

David Walsh 

Dr. D. W. Abercrombie 

Joseph A. Shaw 

Prof. E. Harlow Russell 

Charles C. Milton 

Hon. M. V. B. Jefferson 

Thomas Kiley 

Samuel S. Green 

Dr. Thomas H. Gage 

Dr. C. A. Peabody 

Charles R. Johnson 

C. F. Carroll 

James F. Ryan 

Daniel E. Ayer 

Eugene Belisle 

Eben F. Thompson 

John Lake 

John M. Marble 

Charles Nutt 

]\Iaior W. T. Harlow 



The exercises opened with a selection from Brahms' "Re- 
quiem," by the Festival chorus, over 200 voices, under the 
direction of Mr. Charles I. Rice. 

Prayer was then offered by Rev. George W. King, Ph.D., 
pastor of Trinity Methodist Church, as follows : 

O God, we are in sorrow. We are bereaved this day, indi- 
vidually and as a nation. We are sitting in the shadows. The 
darkness is round about us, and the dark weather that has 
hung over the earth in the past few days is but a fit symbol 
and drapery of this national funeral. 

We mourn to-day the loss of a friend, a statesman, a mag- 
nificent leader. And yet we are not altogether cast down, 
for we still believe in Thee, and as the clouds have broken 



20 William McKinley 

asunder and revealed to us the sun still shining, so on this 
day, in spite of our tears, in spite of our sorrows, we are 
glad to believe God reigns in the heavens. We are glad to 
believe that Thou art, and that Thou art for the right. 

"For right is right, since God is God; 

And right the day must win; 
To doubt would be disloyalty, 

To falter would be sin ] " 

May we never doubt this. Alay we trust Thee in this our 
personal and national bereavement. 

Foolish men would dethrone Thee if they could, and would 
dethrone Thee by dethroning human governments, for the 
governments of men are ordained of God. Surely "He that 
sitteth in the heavens shall laugh" at them ; "the Lord shall 
have him in derision." 

Not only in derision dost Thou defeat the foolish purposes 
of men, but in mercy. We thank Thee that we do not always 
have our own way ; for, if we did, we would often, like Samson, 
pull the structure of life down upon our own heads. 

And this day may we not pray for the deluded, foolish, and 
ignorant among us? May we not pray for the anarchist? 
Thou hast taught us to pray for our enemies. We pray, 
therefore, enlighten Thou the mind of the anarchist. 

May we pray for the demon who has killed our President — 
for the man who has committed this awful crime? If he has 
a spark of humanity left, we pray that Thou wilt fan it into 
life, and, while he is undergoing the just retribution of his 
nation's laws, may God Almighty have mercy on his soul ! 

We thank Thee for our nation and for him whom we mourn 
this day. Thou art still with us, and "the government at 
Washington still lives." 

We thank Thee that in the death of our martyred Presi- 
dent a new atonement has been wrought for our national re- 
demption. We repent the necessity of such an atonement ; 
we lament the conditions which made possible such a crime. 
We all feel in a measure responsible for it. But grant, we be- 
seech Thee, that out of the wounds of our President, out of 



A Memorial 21 



the blood of this atonement, we may learn lessons we shall 
never forget. 

Bless our nation for the future, and grant that we may not 
refuse "the white man's burden," nay, the Christian man's 
burden. May we know Thy purposes and plans, and may we 
follow Thy plans even unto the ends of the earth. 

We pray Thee, bless our new President. We thank Thee for 
his wisdom and judgment already manifested in his difficult 
and delicate position. We pray that Almighty God may be 
about him, and that the angels of God may keep him from 
stumbling, and that this man of courage and destiny may be so 
under Thy guidance that he will direct our ship of state so 
that it may accomplish the purposes for which Thou hast 
founded it. 

There is one heart that sufifers most in this national bereave- 
ment. It is the heart of a woman. We pray that Thou wilt 
bless her and sustain her during this terrible hour ; and we 
pray that in the days of reaction and solitude in her own 
home life that follow this hour the Everlasting Arms may be 
about her. 

We pray, our Father, for Thy blessing upon this occasion. 
Bless the speakers, bless this audience, bless this city, bless 
the Commonwealth. 

And may we not ask that Thou wilt make us loyal to Chris- 
tian institutions, to Christ and the church? — to the church 
because it is back of Christian institutions, and to Christ be- 
cause He is back of the church, and to God, who is over all. 

Thou art the Ruler of all men. We owe our life and every- 
thing to Thee. We commit ourselves to Thy service. May 
we walk humbly in Thy footsteps and do Thy will ; and unto 
Thy name, and Thy name only, will we ascribe all the praise, 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 



William AIcKinley 



Mayor O'Connell then opened the meeting, saying: 

Ladies and Gentlemen : All over this broad land, from ocean 
to ocean, eighty millions of people are bowed down with the 
grief and sadness of this hour. To-dav, all that is mortal of 
William McKinley will be laid in its last resting-place, but 
the memory of his life, character and services will be treas- 
ured forever by a grateful country as one of its most valued 
possessions. Without regard to race, creed, or political belief, 
and with a unanimity unequaled in the history of any nation, 
the people of the United States are pouring forth their grief 
and sympathy and sorrow for the great loss their country has 
suffered. As a citizen, as a soldier, as a statesman, as a gov- 
ernor and as a president, W^illiam McKinley rendered most 
valued and distinguished services to his country. Frequent 
and important as were the demands that were made upon him, 
he was equal to every responsibility with which he was m- 
trusted. 

He lived for the people, and he died for the people, and 
even in the manner of his death, cruel and awful as it was, 
he seems to have been made the instrument of a great and 
lasting service to his country. If he who struck him down 
supposed, even for an instant, that he was going to inflict an 
injury to this government, he has miserably failed. As a result 
of his act our countrymen are more united than ever before. 
Our love, respect and reverence for the Constitution and laws 
of the nation, and our respect and honor for those occupying 
high and important places, are stronger than ever. 

William McKinley was not afraid to die. There never was 
a moment throughout his career when he would not have will- 
ingly given his life for his country, and when the fatal hour 
came he met death unflinchingly, and with a resignation and 
calmness that will not soon be forgotten. "It is God's way. 
His will be done." These words, the last he ever uttered 
upon the earth, will be forever linked with his name and 
career, and it is well, for they are indicative of his whole life. 



A Memorial 23 

A few months ago this city anxiously looked forward to 
the promised visit of the President. We would gladly have 
given him evidence of the universal esteem and honor with 
which he was held by the people of the city of Worcester. 
But a divine Providence has decreed it otherwise, and we, 
too, bow in humble submission to His will. But as long as 
time lasts, as long as the noble deeds of a brave, honest and 
patriotic man awaken a chord of sympathy in the human heart, 
W^orcester will hold in grateful remembrance the name of 
William McKinley. 

In introducing Senator Hoar, ^vlayor O'Connell said : 
It is not my duty to address you at any length ; it is rather 
the simpler one of introducing those who are to follow. 

We are fortunate in having with us to-day one who I believe 
in the past four years more frequently and more openly ex- 
pressed his love, honor and respect for William ]\IcKinley 
than any other man in New England, if not in the country; 
one who dearly and sincerely loved the President, and one 
who in turn was loved by him, our own beloved and distin- 
guished Senator, Hon. George F. Hoar. 



^lassachusetts" honored senior Senator was warmly greeted 
by his friends and neighbors. In a voice that showed plainly 
his feelings at the loss of his friend and chief, he said: 

The voice of love and sorrow, to-day, is not that which 
Cometh from the lips. Since the tidings came from the dwell- 
ing at whose door all mankind were listening, silence, the 
inward prayer, the quivering lip, the tears of women and of 
bearded men, have been the token of an affection which no 
other man left alive has inspired. 

This is the third time within the memory of men not yet 
old that the head of the republic has been stricken down in 
his high place by the hand of an assassin. Each of them was 



24 William McKinley 

a man of the people. Each had risen by the sheer force of 
excellence from the humblest beginning. The life of each 
was a proof that in one great country men rise from the low- 
est to the highest places by virtue only of the upward gravi- 
tation of a manly character. 

The stroke every time was at Liberty, not at Despotism. 
In the great strife which has been going on through all ages 
between Equality and Despotism, between iNIanhood and 
Privilege, between Justice and Oppression, these men were on 
the side of Humanity. The lives stricken down had been 
spent in the service of no selfish ambition, no personal ends, 
but only that the very men who smote them might be better 
ofif. If there were any men on earth who ought to have 
prayed and striven that the life of Abraham Lincoln, or James 
A. Garfield, or William McKinley should be spared, and that 
their noble and lofty aspirations might be fulfilled, it was the 
men who struck them down. 

Booth fancied he was avenging the wrongs of the South. 
Yet the whole South thinks now that she never had a truer 
or wiser friend than Abraham Lincoln. 

The man who murdered ^McKinley was a Pole. He was 
of a race whose country had been parted among despots, as 
wild beasts devour their prey, but who had found here in our 
republic the door open to freedom and equality, to a comfort 
and prosperity, which William McKinley had done more than 
any other to create. Why ! at the moment of the crime, this 
man, a humble citizen, was welcomed to join hands as an 
equal with the chief magistrate of the country. It could have 
happened nowhere else on earth. This was a blow struck 
at the principle of human equality itself, as it was recognized 
by the leader of a great people, on a great public occasion. 

If there be anything of reason or of hope in the wild de- 
lirium of these conspirators, crimes like this are the sure way 
to baffle it. The anarchist, whatever may be his dream, can 
only bring us back to the beast again. When his doctrine 
shall prevail, man must wander once more like the orang- 
outang in the forest. 

The folly of this action, the supreme and utter folly of it, 



A Memorial 



25 



would move us to lauo-hter if it were not for the terrible trag-- 
edy. What has ever been or ever can be gained by these 
crimes? Eight strong men, one of them chosen by the same 
people who chose McKinley, the others chosen by him as his 
honored and trusted counselors, were ready in turn to take 
the helm of state. The anarchist must slay seventy-five mil- 
lion Americans before he can overthrow the republic or the 
doctrine on which the republic is builded. 

We shall, I hope, in due time, soberly, when the tempest of 
grief has passed by, find means for additional security against 
the repetition of a crime like this. We shall go as far as we 
can, without sacrificing constitutional liberty, to repress the 
utterance of doctrine which in effect is nothing but counsel- 
ing murder. 

We shall also, I hope, learn to moderate the bitterness of 
political strife and to avoid the savage attack on the motive 
and character of men who are charged by the people with 
public responsibilities in high places. This fault, while I think 
it is already disappearing from ordinary political and sectional 
controversy, seems to linger still among our scholars and men 
of letters. 

Is it strange that a Pole, bred to regard government as 
synonymous with crime, should have failed to learn the les- 
son, even in our free schools and free streets, that here gov- 
ernment and human liberty and human welfare are insepara- 
ble, when there comes from the college hall, from the scholar's 
desk, and sometimes from press and pulpit, the constant 
preaching that the country is base, and that the rulers of the 
republic are corrupt and wicked? Good men, and patriotic 
men, are not, all of them, free from censure in this matter. 

The things about which good men differ most sharply and 
angrily in our day are those which concern the application 
of the simplest principles of justice and righteousness to the 
conduct of states, as in former times men differed about the 
simplest principles of religious faith. In such case, the man 
who is most positive and most intolerant is the surest to be 
wrong. 

The moral is, not that we should abate our zeal for justice 



26 William ]McKinley 



and righteousness or our condemnation of wrong, but only 
that we should abate in the severity of our judgment of the 
motives of men from whom we differ. 

These bitter and uncharitable critics, especially if they speak 
from places which seem to give them authority, if their arrows 
be feathered with the graces of speech and of culture, also 
serve to arm and equip other men more dangerous than them- 
selves. It is they who are behind the anarchist. It is they 
who excite the crazed brain of Guiteau and shotted the weapon 
of Czolgosz. 

But this hour is devoted to the memory of the dead Presi- 
dent. I can only repeat now what I thank God it was given 
me to say while he lived, that he was our best-beloved Presi- 
dent, save only Washington and Lincoln. 

The tributes to the excellence of President McKinley do 
not come from personal or political friendship alone, and are 
not born of a present sorrow. Men who differed from him 
in opinion most widely on the great questions of the time, 
loved and honored him if only they knew him. 

About three months ago I sat by an eminent Democrat, 
holding high office, of large influence in the public life of the 
country, earnest and zealous in his dislike of every political 
principle and measure of Mr. McKinley. He poured out his 
heart to me in a warm and affectionate declaration of regard 
for him. He spoke of his sincerity, his simplicity, his frank- 
ness, his modesty, his never-failing kindness and courtesy, 
and his great power as a leader of men. 

Congressman McCall, who had differed with him most 
sharply on the greatest single measure of his administration, 
declares that "one of God's finest gentlemen has gone out of 
the world ; one who in every part of his nature was as sweet 
and gentle as a child." 

The veteran Senator Vest of Missouri, who never failed to 
speak out frankly what was in his heart from any restraint 
of time or occasion, most pugnacious of political champions, 
Confederate, Southerner, free-trader, advocate of state's rights, 
and of free silver, zealous opponent of the course of the ad- 
ministration as to the Philippine Islands, has paid a like tribute 



A Memorial 27 

to his gentleness, his courtesy, and to his ability as a great 
leader of men. These are but types of the opinion of all men 
who knew the President. 

The belief that President ]\IcKinley lacked intellectual 
power, or firmness, or strength of will, long ago disappeared 
as his countrymen came to know him better. I do not believe 
there is a stronger personal force left on earth than that veiled 
by his quiet and gracious manner. Those who denied his ab- 
solute integrity and patriotism and desire for justice and lib- 
erty will as surely change their minds. 

Is there in history or in poetry the story of a knightlier 
chivalry than that of this man's devotion to the wife of his 
youth? In his home, the foremost household of the republic, 
has been the foremost example of that household virtue, the 
love of husband and wife, which is the one best thing man 
has gained so far in the uncounted years of his evolution. 

He was a man of simple, lofty and quiet courage, as became 
an American citizen and a veteran soldier. He might have 
avoided this fate. There were never wanting counselors 
enough to bid him surround himself with guards, or shut out 
the people from his presence, or keep away from the places 
where they were gathered. Biit he would take no heed of 
such warning. He liked better to trust himself to the affec- 
tions of his countrymen, to their knowledge that he deserved 
their love, that he merited well of them, and cared for noth- 
ing but their welfare. He was thinking ever of their safety, 
not of his own. He would rather win his enemies than in- 
timidate them. He ever seemed to be saying: 

"Love thyself last; cherish those hearts that hate thee; 

Corruption wins not more than honesty ; 

Still in thy right hand carr}^ gentle Peace, 

To silence envious tongues. Be just and fear not ; 

Let all the ends thou aim'st at, be thy Country's, 

Thy God's, and Truth's ; then if thou fall'st 

Thou fall'st a blessed martyr." 

The presence of death reveals the inmost soul. It assures 
the sincerity of the man as no oath or penal sanction can do it. 
"He nothing common did, or mean. 
Upon that memorable scene." 



28 WiLLIAIM aIcKiXLEY 



"The bed of death," as our great orator said, "brings every 
man to his individuality. A man may live as a hero, a states- 
man, or a conqueror, but he must die as a man." Surely cour- 
age, and love, and faith, are still the great attributes of a noble 
and manly character. What pride do we all feel in our beloved 
country, what pride in the republic which calls such men to 
her high places, when we hear the simple story of what he 
said in those moments of supreme trial, when the death-blow 
was struck, when he lay awaiting the result, and at last, when 
he knew his fate? The sublime pity for the wretch who had 
murdered him : " Don't hurt the man." The cheerful counsel 
to his wife : "We must bear up ; it will be better for both 
OF us." The murmured verse of the beautiful hymn : 

"Nearer, my God, to Thee, 

Nearer to Thee, 
E'en though it be a cross 

That raiseth me. 
Still all my song shall be, 

Nearer, my God, to Thee, 

Nearer to Thee." 

"(Sonb-bij?. all. (gnoft-bgr. 3t is (Bah'a taaij. ^^5 totU bt hont" 

Ah ! my friends, if we have given to us in this world a divine 
pattern, and are commanded to imitate the divine example, 
surely there can be no presumption or blasphemy in saying 
that men have sometimes attained unto it. If the spirit of 
Him who said in His dying hour : "Father, forgive them, for 
they know not what they do ;" who, if the cup were not to 
pass from Him, submitted His own will to His Father's, and 
commended, in dying, his spirit, to the Spirit that made it, 
ever hath been manifested in the conduct of any human being, 
it was found in that of IMcKinley. 

We will place William McKinley in our Valhalla. He was 
a favorite of the people. He was a leader of men. He knew 
the people that he ruled. His power was of the sunshine, 
not of the tempest. Whether the great measures with which 
his name is inseparably connected were wise or unwise, right- 
eous or unrighteous, must be settled by later and more 
deliberate verdict than ours. History will declare, I think. 



A Mem(3Rtal 29 

that he believed them right and wise, that he loved his coun- 
trymen, and loved libetry. 

But in this hour, as we stand by the grave of our beloved, 
we are thinking of the simple household virtues which make 
the whole world kin, and which, after all, are the strength of 
the republic and the foundation of all human society. The 
pure family life, the love of one man for one woman, the sin- 
cere friendship, the unfailing kindness, the open heart, the 
modest bearing, the sweet and gracious demeanor — it is these 
of which our hearts are full ; it is these that cling to the good 
man's memory here and hereafter. 

Peace to his ashes. The benedictions of millions of Ameri- 
cans are falling now upon his new-made grave like dew. 

"Hush! the Dead March wails in the people's ears, 
The dark crowd moves, and there are sobs and tears; 
The black earth yawns; the mortal disappears: 

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust ; 

He hath gone who seemed so great. — 
Gone ; but nothing can bereave him 
Of the force he made his own 

Being here ; and we believe him 

Something far advanced in state, 
And that he wears a truer crown 
Than any wreath that man can weave him. 

Speak no more of his renown, 

Lay your earthly fancies down, 
And in the sweet earth's bosom leave him. 
God, accept him; Christ, receive him." 

Mayor O'Connell then presented Dr. G. Stanley Hall, LL.D., 
president of Clark University. 



mv. e* Stanley ^MVn ^ti'Uvtun. 

Fellow Citizens : There are here no parties, creeds or classes, 
for grief makes us all brethren to-day, as we "bury our great 
chief with a nation's lamentation." The crape, the eulogies, 
the prayers, the requiem "tides of music's golden sea, setting 



30 



William AIcKinlev 



towards eternity," all the sad processionals of these last four 
days are no mere pageantry of official mourning, but there are 
sobs and tears warm from the heart of thousands who never 
met our fallen captain. 

All waves and sweethearts loved him, because even from the 
high and necessary business of state he found time for those 
tender, chivalric ministrations to his frail helpmeet which 
every woman's heart most hungers for in the man of her 
choice, and to emulate which would make all men more ideal 
husbands and augment those very domestic virtues and joys 
which now so need increase among us. No wonder if many 
a woman would have gladly died to save him. 

All religious people loved him. No less true to the church 
than to the home, he worshipped the Great Master after the 
way his fathers thought best, and as he passed into the valley 
of the dark shadow that we all supremely dread and fear, it 
was with the assured faith that he was drawing nearer his 
God. His end was the fit culmination of a good man's life, 
and adds a yet new confirmation and illustration to the teach- 
ing of every creed and pulpit that death is victory and not 
defeat. Small wonder, then, that every churchman of what- 
ever sect will long and fondly cherish his memory as a Chris- 
tian hero. 

All soldiers loved him. In youth he faced the grim chance 
of war in the cause of freedom, and wore in life and death the 
button of the Grand Army of the Republic, that is a passport 
to the heart of every veteran, whether in blue or gray, and 
means so much to every patriot. Younger soldiers, who 
fought at Manila and Santiago, revered him not only as chief 
of the army and navy, but felt bound to him by that strange, 
manly love of all comrades who have tasted the hardships of 
camp and passed the red baptism of blood together, and which 
only soldiers know. 

His foes loved him. In council, where so much of his life 
was passed, he persuaded where others would have coerced. 
His suavity never sharpened, but took away the personal sting 
from the bitter antagonisms that surged about him. He 
allayed rancor and strife, and many a political enemy left his 



A ^Iemorial 



presence a personal friend. Like Lincoln, he paused on the 
brink of great decisions, where rasher and more impetuous 
natures would have been precipitate, till the voice of the peo- 
ple, which he revered as that of God and whose mouth-piece 
and oracle his office made him, became clear and united, and 
then abode by his resolve. By birth and by temperament a 
man of the people, in office he became to a rare degree their 
living epistle, known and read of all. No wonder he trusted 
himself unguarded among them, and no wonder that the bul- 
let that laid him low drew blood from the heart of every loyal 
citizen. 

When Rome was declining to its fall and Otho, the best of 
her later emperors, died, strong men slew themselves from 
sheer grief, pathos and despair, for the hope of the world 
seemed extinguished in a gathering twilight of all the gods 
and men. But for our ship of state, acute as it is, this sudden 
shock is of the wave and not the rock, for God reigns, the gov- 
ernment is safe, and we shall press on our upward way. 

The country we love is not a mere geographical term ; it 
is more than all our rich fields, prairies, hills, coasts, or popu- 
lous cities. It is more than a corporation, a trading guild with 
its manifold and prosperous marts and all its trade and com- 
merce. Our fatherland is also a state invisible, not made with 
hands, a great treasury of golden deeds. Its moral wealth and 
worth are enriched by the blood of every soldier or martyr 
for a century and a quarter. It is made more precious by 
every act of devotion, heroism or self-sacrifice in its behalf. 
Every vote with intelligence and conviction behind it ; every 
tax fairly levied, ungrudgingly paid and wisely expended ; 
every public service that takes time and strength from our 
private affairs; every efifort for municipal, educational, moral 
or social reform, enhances the common wealth, the storehouse 
of accumulated virtue, makes citizenship better and mean 
more, makes a purer and more quickening atmosphere for chil- 
dren to grow up in and for us to live and die in. 

Man is preeminently a political creature, a state builder, and 
true, real politics is, as Aristotle well said, his highest voca- 
tion. Our great republic, the highest expression of himianity 



William McKinley 



with all its hopes and all its fears which history has yet seen, 
is worthy of the very highest earthly love, service and devo- 
tion of man ; and our flag that now happily hangs in or waves 
beside every schoolhouse in the land, that has floated in every 
battle since Lexington, which has been torn with shot and 
shell and led every forlorn hope that our soldiers have so often 
turned into victory, is the emblem of a meaning ever fuller 
and more sacred, that says to every citizen, wherever he is, 
that he is not alone, but part of the great organic whole, which 
men have died to make free, as Christ died to make men holy. 

If, then, ours is the noblest of nations, best fitted to usher 
in a higher type of man, anarchism, which is well called "igno- 
rance set on fire," and which would destroy all this and all 
government without which man becomes a beast, is blackest 
here where institutions are best. Bred and maddened by des- 
potism, even its desperate programme should lose its full mo- 
mentum here and turn from mere negation to some positive 
or colonial scheme where its vagaries would grow harmless. 
In all the sad annals of assassination a monster who, almost 
in the act of grasping the friendly hand which our land in the 
person of its benign chief holds out to the vilest, shoots down 
our Captain Great Heart, as if he were an outlaw, adds to pol- 
itics a new shudder of horror and commits a crime without a 
name, and all direct incitement to such butchery legislation 
should hasten to brand with the infamous punishment it de- 
serves. 

As the office of President grows in responsibility, it not only 
needs more protection, but is surer to enlarge the man who 
holds it and to bring out the best and greatest possibilities of 
his nature and repress all that is small or bad, as indeed it has 
always done in our past, for no incumbent has ever disgraced 
it. Under the guidance of him we mourn, we have secured 
sound money, and a business prosperity greater than ever 
before. We were already the great nation of the New World, 
but now in the irresistible logic of events we have become a 
potent factor in all the larger problems of the Old. Before, 
our statesmen pondered our own history and perhaps that of 
the mother country, but to guide the genius and destinies of 



A Memorial 33 



our greater republic they must now study the history and pol- 
itics of the world. Our moral influence had long been profound 
and transforming, but we have added to this new and more 
material international responsibilities and opportunities in 
commerce and politics as we take a higher seat in the world's 
great parliament. Whether it is hard or easy, we must now 
in a measure forget the things that are behind, while we strive 
to realize the grand Stoic motto and accept the inevitable with 
joy. For we now live in a nation greater than any of the 
founders of our government foresaw, and even their wisdom 
must be transcended, warmly as its lessons must ever be cher- 
ished. 

Phidippides, the valiant warrior chief of ancient Greece, 
after a great victory ran to the Acropolis, outstripping all 
others in the race, and in the very act of shouting, "Rejoice, 
for Athens is now free and great," fell dead, exhausted by his 
labor, by a special favor of the gods, who would permit him 
no decline, but for reward let him die at the zenith of his 
power. So our leader had just recounted, almost with his last 
words, the achievements of his stewardship that made our 
country greater and happier, even on the dreadful brink of 
the red grave to which he sank, exhausted, perhaps, by his 
labor beyond the power of recovery from his wounds, and it 
may be died now by special favor of the gods. 

Perchance, his work was done. Can we better keep his 
memory warm in our hearts and green in our lives than by 
now pledging each other, when a touch of sorrow has made 
us all akin, that we will henceforth love and serve our native 
land more devoutly ; that, while we can and will abate none 
of our convictions, our partisanship shall henceforth be with- 
out the sting of personal rancor ; that we will be mindful that 
bitterness may inflame the weak or degenerate to violence ; 
that this day shall be forever sacred to the common good for 
which our government and civilization stand, and to that 
deeper unity that underlies all differences of calling, class, 
party and creed, and which makes all men everywhere breth- 
ren, because children of the same God. If we do this hence- 
forth, it is only ashes they are at this very hour burying at 



34 William McKinley 

Canton, and the soul of our fallen chieftain will go marching 
on through the ages ; it will abide with us as a diffusing power 
that makes for civic righteousness, and harmony and order 
will be no less insured than liberty and progress. 

At the conclusion of Dr. Hall's address, the Festival chorus 
sang "Nearer, My God, to Thee." 

The next speaker was Rt. Rev. Mgr. Thomas J. Conaty, 
D.D., president of the Catholic University of x\merica. 



The watchers by the bedside of the dying President have 
issued their last bulletin. The hopes we so fondly cherished 
for his recovery are unrealized. President McKinley is dead. 
Loving hands have borne his body to the Capitol, the national 
honors have been paid to him, and devoted friends are now 
laying him to rest in his western home. All eyes are follow- 
ing that procession to the grave. In sorrow and anguish of 
heart, a nation reverently bends over the grave of its mar- 
tyred President. One in thought, one in love and one in 
praise, a united people speaks to the world its affection for 
its beloved President. No discordant note is heard in its re- 
quiem, as all chant — 

"How tenderly we loved him ! How deeply we deplore ! " 

Our President has been snatched from life by the dastardly 
deed of a base assassin. It is hard to say it, harder still to bear 
it, but God's ways are not men's ways — God's holy will be 
done. All our differences of politics, creed, and race are for 
the moment forgotten. All are merged in a common citizen- 
ship which weeps bitter tears over the bier of its citizen Presi- 
dent chosen to rule, and ruling in love and justice. We loved 
him in life, we love him still more tenderly in death, and we 
love now more strongly than ever the republic whose desti- 
nies he so faithfuUy guided. But the nation lives and the peo- 
ple rule. We are not a dynasty ; our destiny depends on no 



A Memorial 35 



one family, or no one man. We are a free people and our gov- 
ernment rests on the families of the land. We are stronger 
to-day than ever before. The blood of the martyred Presi- 
dent is the seed of a greater vitality and farther reaching 
virility. His death is a seal of our unity. The name of Wil- 
liam McKinley is enshrined in a people's love and will be be- 
queathed to their children as a precious inheritance from one 
of the truest of Americans. 

"Woe's the day! and dead 
While yet the fields of his most golden prime 
Are rich in all the pomp of summer time 
With all their ripening wealth unharvested. " 

I come as a citizen at the bidding of our fair city to add my 
tribute to the memory of a man whom it was my privilege to 
know somewhat intimately, and my greater privilege to love. 
We dififered radically on questions of religion, and there were 
differences of opinion as to matters of public policy, but as we 
discussed them we were none the less certain of one another's 
honesty of purpose and desire to do what was right. As Pres- 
ident he had to deal with vast problems, which were compli- 
cated by religious interests demanding the most judicious 
statesmanship. The position of the Catholic Church in our 
new possessions, the rights of property and of conscience, the 
relation of the government toward religion, all these were 
questions of serious moment, and I feel that the President 
approached them with a desire to understand them and answer 
them right. ]\Ien are not agreed that the full solution has yet 
been found, but I feel that any failure in that direction is not 
due to a lack of disposition to do justice. I have an abiding 
faith that as we grow into greater confidence in one another 
we will meet all our national problems in the spirit of fairness 
and justice, which I always recognized in President McKinley. 
There was no narrowness in his nature, for he always recog- 
nized that he is truest to American principles who not only 
acknowledges, but safeguards the rights of individual con- 
science. I admired him for his broad-mindedness, which made 
him despise the men who would light the torch of ostracism 
of any citizen because of his religious views. W^e are none 



36 William McKinley 

the less loyal citizens and friends because our consciences 
point to different pathways in religious belief and practice. He 
was proud to assert that character and merit should win place, 
and that no man's creed, color, or race should be a bar to pre- 
ferment. He was indeed one of God's noblemen, and it is no 
wonder that hearts stood still, and tongues were voiceless 
when the message of death was tolled in the quiet of the mid- 
night hour. We are not called upon now to assign him to 
his definite place among the world's great men. Estimates 
may differ, and no doubt will differ, as to the value of his pol- 
icies as men's views determine their attitude to questions of 
policy. The better to understand his life and aims, we should 
try to find his viewpoints, remembering always that the hori- 
zon of the man in the watch-tower is vaster than that of the 
man on the plain. 

Need I picture him through a life of good deeds, even when 
the white light that beats about the throne shone upon him, as 
the first citizen of the land. He was a youth with deep religious 
feelings, struggling for education, a soldier at eighteen, gen- 
erously answering Lincoln's call for volunteers to save the 
Union, with brave deeds on many battlefields, trusted messen- 
ger and daring officer, rising by his ability and valor to highest 
positions, an earnest of the official responsibilities which were 
afterwards thrust upon him by his city, district. State and 
nation. We remember him as a figure in Congress, study- 
ing the problems of industrial development, and giving his 
name to a system of revenue which was destined to utilize the 
brain and brawn of American workingmen, and while bring- 
ing to American markets the traders of the world, to give to 
the American mechanic an independent home and the com- 
forts of life far beyond those enjoyed by labor in any other 
country. Air. McKinley was wise enough and broad enough 
to see that conditions change, and his last public utterance 
sounded the note of reciprocity and the necessity for amend- 
ment of tariff legislation. If is only a great man who has the 
courage to change his views when determined by what is 
right and best. A leader in his party councils, he was always 
faithful to his promises, casting aside official recognition that 



A Memorial 37 



he might prove his high sense of honor to the men to whom 
he had pledged his support. "Is it then so praiseworthy not 
to do a dishonorable thing?" Such was the keynote to his 
public life. Such an honorable act would meet with reward, 
for men value loyalty and honesty, and we were not surprised 
to find him in time called to the highest office in the gift of a 
free nation. He grew in greatness as responsibilities were 
thrust upon him. He won to himself a personal following far 
beyond the limits of his party, and this was largely due to a 
confidence which men had in him, at a time when industrial 
and commercial conditions cast fear into many serious minds. 
Public confidence was restored and the busy hum of trade 
made the nation take a mighty step forward. We recall the 
trying days of the Cuban excitement and the President's anx- 
iety to prevent war. He knew what war meant, and it was 
not until he could no longer resist the clamors of Congress 
for Cuban independence that he yielded and led his country 
to greatest successes. The Chinese difficulty brought inter- 
national complications, which were met with a prudence, a 
statesmanship, and an absence of vindictiveness which have 
won the admiration of the world. He became a necessity to 
his party and to his country, and he was called to a second 
term with an acclaim and an enthusiasm which again attested 
a people's confidence. It only determined him to a greater 
efifort to be, in deed as in name, the President of the whole 
people. He aimed to give an ideal administration to the re- 
public which, under him, has become one of the greatest 
nations on earth. Tremendous responsibilities had arisen and 
absolute discretion had been given to him, and he approached 
all problems, and especially those presented by the new pos- 
sessions, with carefulness, justice, and kindness. He had given 
his name to our industrial development, and his name was to 
be attached to those foreign policies of the government which 
promise an expansion of territory and power of which the wild- 
est enthusiast had never dreamed. His life-long study of 
economics and of the theory of government, his careful selec- 
tion of prudent and able advisers, eminently fitted him to enter 
upon the greatest career yet open to our presidents, and he 



38 William AIcKinley 

was constantly growing into the proportions of the man for 
the hour. There was nothing of the autocrat, the usurper, or 
the emperor about him — he was the most democratic of rulers, 
who loved to acknowledge his sonship from the people and his 
duty to the mandates of the people. 

"He ruled no serfs and he knew no pride, 
He was one of the workers side by side.'' 

He was a firm believer in party politics, but he recognized 
also that country was greater than party. He strove for unity 
as he had fought as a soldier for unity. He wished his country 
to have no peer in all the world. His democracy was built 
upon the simplicity of a good home, and his public life had 
its source in an irreproachable private life. He loved his 
country because he loved his home. He loved his kind because 
he loved his parents and his wife, and he loved all because he 
loved God. No one can ever forget the tenderness of his home 
affections ; his devotion to his aged mother in the days of her 
declining health, and to his beloved wife in all the difficulties 
and sorrows of her health will ever shine as the brightest jewels 
in a worthy life. His moral character was beyond reproach. 
His ideals of life were of the noblest. No breath of suspicion 
ever tarnished the brilliancy of his reputation. He had the 
happy faculty of making and keeping strong friendships. His 
ofificial family, the diplomatic bodies, the representatives of 
the people, educational and charitable leaders, the rulers of the 
nations, all respected and loved him. What was his secret? 
His splendid kindliness with his high sense of duty, and his 
ardent desire to be just, which are the characteristics of a noble 
manhood. In peace, in war, in legal life, in Congress, in State 
affairs, in international disputes, in the relations of labor and 
capital, his sense of justice was always predominant. Like 
Washington and Lincoln, he was called to meet great crises, 
and his success merits for him a place among the great presi- 
dents of history. He was one of the most lovable and cour- 
teous of men, with the simplicity and gentleness of a child. 
He was generous minded, and all who approached him found 
a kindness which went straightway to the heart. ?\Ien forgot 



A Memorial 39 



his politics and his creed, and knew him as a man who was 
the President. He had a reverence for old age which was 
most touching. He put everyone at ease with him, and was 
always prepared to do a kindly act. He strove to unite all 
sections in a common love for the republic, and his visits to the 
South were triumphal marches. Under the blue he fought 
for the unity of the republic, but when reconstruction came, 
he stretched a brother's hand to those who wore the gray, and 
showed that the unity was a reality. Blue and gray weep over 
his grave as that of a patriot President. He loved the old sol- 
dier, for he recalled his own military life, and he loved the 
stranger who sought here an asylum for political and relig- 
ious liberty. He had a deep religious. Christian sense which 
never allowed him to be ashamed of being a Christian and de- 
vout man. This brought God to his lips in his dying moments, 
and with God the spirit of forgiveness to the poor wretch who, 
with misguided ideas, had struck a blow at his life and at 
liberty. Gladstone said of Palmerston, "He had a nature in- 
capable of enduring anger or any sentiment of wrath, which 
was one of the great sources of his influence over men." This 
was tiue of President McKinley. 

His tender thought for his beloved wife, his prayer for par- 
don from God for his enemy, his obedience to God's will, 
marked the end of the life of a man whom we all knew to be a 
man of faith who always trusted in God. He died at the mo- 
ment of his nation's greatest prosperity. His last public utter- 
ance as president was praise for his country's development and 
counsel for its more brilliant future. How beautiful his words 
of hope to the great Pan-American peoples whose representa- 
tives had gathered around him to find inspiration for their own 
national development, in industry and in greatness. He ha^ 
left us the grandest of republics, and with it a name beyond 
reproach. 

"Men of character," says Emerson, "are the conscience of 
the society to which they belong." Character, more than 
genius, wins our admiration. We may marvel at genius, but 
we love the good man. Goodness rules, it ennobles and in- 
spires, it is the very roul of character. It touches us with its 



40 William ^NIcKinley 



sympathy, for, after all, we are more heart than head. It 
springs from a moral conscience, which is built upon a sense 
of right. The true wealth of a nation is in its men of character. 
To know them is to be lifted up to higher ideals and nobler 
purposes ; to have had their friendship is a blessing from God. 
An old author has said that there are three friendships that are 
advantageous — friendship with the upright, friendship with the 
sincere, and friendship with men of observation. Mr. McKin- 
ley's friendship combined all three. His high moral sense, 
his perfect honesty of purpose, and his vast experience made 
acquaintance with him of rarest value. It was easy to know 
him, and once known, he could never be forgotten. I recall 
with affection his visit to my simple home at Washington. 
His appreciation of the welcome to the University, his lively 
sense of the advantages offered to young men, his words of 
wise encouragement and advice, on the mission of educated 
men in our republic, will long be remembered by all who heard 
him. The simplicity, the gentleness, the kindness of the hour 
spent with me, his love for music and the birds as they sang in 
the woods about us, his expression of interest in the old Bay 
State, and his aft'ection for our revered Senator Hoar, are all 
pleasant memories which will ever hover around my univer- 
sity home. It was an insight into the character of a truly 
great and good man. Of him might be said what was so well 
said of another — 

"In lives like thine, as pure as fair, 
Earth's golden knighthood breathes again 

Amid a world of sordid greed, 
Of paltry aims, of perjured trust, 
We knew thee strong and pure and just.'' 

But he has gone from the councils of state over which he 
presided with such masterly skill. The eye that beamed pleas- 
antly on us will shine on us no more, in this life. The voice 
with its strong eloquence will be heard no more — the sym- 
pathy and love which he shared so generously with his friends 
will be theirs no longer. But he has left a character which is 
purer than gold and richer than diamonds — a character in 
which were exemplified, in a marked degree, the virtues of the 



A Memorial 41 



home and of the servant of the people. He never violated a 
trust, he never did man a wrong. 

"He never drew 
A trusting heart from the pure and true." 

Is it a wonder that we should mourn? Is it a wonder that 
the heart is ready to break when the word of his death reaches 
us? We should grieve, but we should not despair. We should 
mourn like men of faith who trust in law and in the people, 
because we trust in God. If he would give us a lesson in our 
bereavement it would be one of calmness and coolness in ap- 
preciating the dangers that threaten us — dangers that found 
fateful expression in robbing of life a ruler who had never 
wronged the man who struck the fatal blow. Never was wise 
counsel more necessary. We are at a moment for most care- 
ful consideration of our national needs. He would bid us edu- 
cate men to a sense of the meaning of liberty, that thus they 
may the better exercise their citizenship which finds its safe- 
Sfuard in authoritv which comes from God. Wrongs exist 
in society, but all wrongs can be righted by law, which is the 
very reason of a community as it is of an individual. Liberty 
is often confused with license. Liberty is not to be found in 
doing wrong, but in doing right. The absolute sovereign is 
justice, and liberty cannot exist except through order, which 
is the result of just laws. Men who proclaim that they have 
done away with God and that there must be no government 
and no religion, are the enemies of societ}'. Do away with 
God and you do away with conscience, all moral sense is a 
myth, and in what are we better than savages? Life, liberty, 
and the pursuit of happiness do not mean license to destroy 
property or life, or to diminish the rights and privileges of 
others. They are man's inalienable rights, guaranteed by law 
which protects the citizen in the possession and enjoyment of 
them. They are the results of the freedom with which God 
has made us free. We are social beings and not wild beasts of 
the jungle, nor chimpanzees of the forests. There is no duty 
to man that has not its source in duty to God, and there is no 
law worthy of the name which does not spring from the 



42 William }iIcKixley 

eternal law. Anarchy lias no place among a free people. The 
torch of the incendiary, the red flag of the commune or the 
bullet of the assassin, are not weapons which a free people 
can ever recognize. By the ballot we make and immake poli- 
cies, we redress grievances and maintain our rights. The pres- 
ident of to-day is the private citizen of to-morrow, and the 
farmer's son, or the boy by the towpath may one day rule the 
nation. By the ballot, we stamp our approval or our condem- 
nation on political platforms and direct our public servants to 
do a people's will. Anarchy is subversive of all our privileges, 
and must be met with a determination that the people are to 
rule and law must be obej-ed. Now is the time when calm, 
judicious consideration should be given to the best way to 
meet this most serious and far-reaching problem. Let us not 
forget that to us who see clearly the designs of an all-wise 
Providence there should come consideration for those to whom 
false education, and perhaps circumstances of life have given 
mistaken ideas of responsibility. You cannot kill ideas, neither 
can you legislate men out of ideas, but you can educate men 
out of false ideas. The study of the causes that have led and 
still lead to such conditions is a duty before us all. The 
sanctity of human life must be safeguarded, crime must meet 
a condign punishment, and law and order must be maintained. 
The necessity of God in public and private life, the need of 
positive religion in education must strike all thinking men as 
powerful essential agencies in solving the problems which con- 
front us. 

We need a greater reverence for the offices of government 
and greater respect for the individuals whom we elect. Ridi- 
cule of tlie man or misrepresentation of his acts are sources 
that often lead to revolution. The office of president of a 
great people is sacred, and the person of the President is 
sacred. W^e need more reverence for both from press and 
people. This should be manifested during the life of the man, 
and not merely reserved as a tribute after death. President 
McKinley is dead, but the republic lives and God rules over 
all. The choice of the people takes his place, and a bereaved 
nation hails him as President Roosevelt. To him reverence 



A Memorial 43 

and loyalty and love as to his predecessor. In him is vested 
the authority over the people, and in him the people have un- 
boimded confidence. j\Iay God bless our republic and our 
President. Our sympathy and affection go out to the sorrow- 
ing family and devoted friends of President McKinley, and 
above all to the companion of his domestic loves, the much- 
afflicted \vife. ]\Iay God's choicest graces be hers, in this hour 
of deepest grief. Her loss is greater than ours, and no one 
but God can know her affliction and He alone can comfort her. 
Your friend and mine, and the friend of all the people is to-day 
laid to rest beside his parents in the churchyard of his Canton 
home. A sorrowing nation bends over his grave and pays 
its tribute of love to its well beloved President, and proclaims 
to the world that it mourns a great and a good man who never 
violated the people's trust, and who never ceased to have an 
abiding faith in his God and his country. 

"Be his epitaph written on his country's mind, 
He served his countn- and loved his kind." 

The next number was a selection from Mendelssohn's "St. 
Paul," by the Festival chorus, at the conclusion of which Con- 
gressman John R. Thayer was introduced as the next speaker. 



The President is dead. Long live the President ! 

Rulers are mortal, but the nation is eternal ! 

The murderous assassin has slain our chief magistrate ; but no 
bullet of the anarchist, no danger of the maniac, no secret plot- 
ting of the irresponsible fanatics can overthrow the American 
republic, nor seriously impair our national institutions. Gov- 
ernments survive, though men and rulers may perish. 

Twenty years of comparative quiet, following the vast con- 
spiracy of nihilism, had led us to believe that the fires of social 
revolution were burned out ; but we have recently stern remind- 
ers that volcanic elements still seethe beneath the surface of 



44 



William McKinley 



Christendom. Anarchism has followed nihilism and invaded 
the American republic, raising its red banner of anarchy, as we 
are most sorrowfully reminded this day. 

We shudder to recount, in recent years, the murderous deeds 
of the wicked and irresponsible anarchists — the slayer of Presi- 
dent Carnot, the stabber of the Empress Elizabeth, the would-be 
assassins of Emperor William, the killer of King Humbert, in 
other countries ; and the cowardly murder of our own beloved 
President. 

The flag of our country — the emblem of liberty and love — 
floats this day at half-mast in every town and hamlet in this broad 
country, from schoolhouse to Capitol, over nearly eighty millions 
of people, and thus symbolizes the grief and mourning of all 
loyal citizens of the nations. This sorrow is a common one, 
knowing no party, section, sect or creed, but each good citizen 
vies with the other in expression of a nation's sorrow and a 
nation's grief. 

As we stand by the bier of the martyred President and recall 
his manly character, his lovable personality, his great, sympa- 
thetic heart, now laid low by the hand of the stealthy, cowardly 
assassin, in the agony of our broken, bleeding hearts, we are 
almost constrained to exclaim, "Oh! my God, why hast Thou 
deserted us?" 

The deed that took the life of the President is one of the most 
dastardly in the records of crime. The miserable wretch who 
plunged the nation into gloom and mourning declares that he 
is an anarchist, whose despicable motto is, "Truth forever on the 
scaffold; wrong forever on the throne," and by an anarchist, too, 
who was following and living up to the teachings which have 
thus far been permitted to be promulgated publicly under the 
assumed protection afforded for free speech, by those who would 
inflame popular mind by appeals to the worst passions, to the 
end that riot, disorder and ruin shall take the place of law, jus- 
tice and order. It remains to be seen how much longer such 
teachings and doctrines, disseminated with impassioned 
harangues, will be permitted to be taught and spread broadcast 
under the garb and sanction of free speech, and for how long a 
suffering people shall permit those entertaining these pernicious, 



A Memorial 45 



criminal and infernal theories and teachings to land on our 
shores or remain in our midst, sharing in all the blessings and 
comforts which our government so generously furnishes, yet 
plotting the destruction of the very government which protects 
them, and assassinating our chosen rulers. 

When anarchy struck at President McKinley, it aimed its 
blow not at tyranny or despotism, but at the liberty and safety 
of the American people. The murderous assault upon our 
unprotected President was a stab at the heart of justice and 
liberty. 

The people of this republic always give the full measure of 
their respect and allegiance to the chief executive of the nation, 
and yet it does not follow that all agree with his statements, his 
economics, his ministerial acts, or his administration, but all 
right-minded citizens, with one accord, recognize the right of 
legally constituted majorities to govern, and that obedience and 
respect are always due to the encumbent of the greatest office 
known among governments. We are all loyal to our chosen 
leaders, and when that fatal shot was fired at Buffalo at the heart 
of the President of this great republic, who, obedient to the call 
of his country, and from a sense of duty, had left his peaceful 
abode to grace by his presence an exposition of the creation of 
human art, the products of human industry and the progress of 
human science, all differences of political parties, principles and 
policies were forgotten in the common grief and sorrow. We 
see him at his post of duty when the swift and startling 
messenger of death overtook him. He was discharging his 
responsibilities in a modest yet dignified manner, which has so 
endeared him to the rank and file of the American people. 

The character of President McKinley was as the open day — 
neither darkness nor shadow rested upon it. There was nothing 
hidden that should be revealed. Rockribbed by integrity and 
probity, his conduct was ever just and honorable. The dignity 
of his manhood spurned all that was mean and worthless, and 
his virtues lent a charm of manner and social attractiveness that 
gave him a prominence among great and true men. The page 
of his life was clearly written, without blot or stain. The breath 
of suspicion or the shafts of obliquy could not reach it ; the 



46 William McKinley 

rancor or aspersion could not touch it; malignity and vindictive- 
ness found there no entrance ; but his life was rounded out by 
kindness and love for all men. His loyalty to truth, his fealty 
to duty, his unswerving devotion to the interests of the whole 
country and all the people, as he understood them, carved for 
him in the hearts of men an enduring tablet. He recognized 
the fact that human justice and benevolence have not yet elimi- 
nated charity from the social fabric. The enmity evolved by the 
heat of partisanship and political strife passed by him as an idle 
wnnd. The cardinal principles of his creed were sympathy and 
kindness, amid the common afifairs of men ; in the high functions 
of his exalted position, and in the nearer and dearer ties of home 
and family, the voice of duty prevailed. 

We rest content in the belief that our lamented President has 
passed on to the better and higher life that lies beyond the con- 
fines of mortality. The lessons of his life, whose pleasant 
remembrances rob even death of some of its sadness, let us 
treasure, and may they prove a stimulating influence to us all for 
a higher and nobler life ! 

Surely, if happiness can come from the honors or triumphs of 
this world, Mr. McKinley may well have been a happy man. No 
forebodings of evil haunted him, no premonition of danger 
clouded his sky. One moment he stood erect, strong, confident 
in the years stretching peacefully out before him ; the next, he 
lay wounded, bleeding, helpless, doomed for the grave. 

Great in life, he was equally great in death. In the frenzy of 
wantonness and wickedness he was thrust from the full tide of his 
world's interest, from its hopes and its aspirations, into the 
visible presence of death. With unfaltering front he faced it. 
With unfailing tenderness he took leave of life. Above the 
demoniac hiss of the assassin's bullet he heard the voice of God. 
With simple resignation he bowed to the divine decree, as 
fittingly expressed by his last audible words, "His will be done." 

April 2"/, 1893, at Galena, 111., in delivering a eulogy upon Pres- 
ident Grant, Mr. McKinley made use of the following language, 
which I consider proper to reproduce upon this occasion, and 
deem as applicable to himself as it was fitting to General Grant : 
"He was not an old man when he died, but. after all, what a com- 



A Memorial 



47 



plete life was his. Mighty events and mightier achievements 
were never crowded into a single life before, and he lived to 
place them in enduring form to he read by the millions living and 
the millions yet unborn. Then laying down his pen, he bowed 
resignedly before the Angel of Death, saying, Tf it is God's 
providence that I shall go now, I am ready to obey His will with- 
out a murmur.' Great in life, majestic in death, he needs no 
monument to perpetuate his fame. It will live and glow with 
increased lustre so long as liberty lasts and the love of liberty 
has a place in the heart of man. Surrounded by a devoted 
family, with a mind serene and a heart resigned, he passed over 
to join his fallen comrades beyond the river on another field of 
glory, above him in his chamber of sickness and death being 
the portraits of Washington and Lincoln, whose disembodied 
spirits in the Eternal City were watching and waiting for him 
who was to complete the immortal trio of America's first and 
best-loved, and as earthly scenes receded from his view and the 
celestial appeared, I can imagine those were the first to greet his 
sight and bid him welcome. We bow in affectionate reverence 
and with most grateful hearts to those immortal names — Wash- 
ington, Lincoln and Grant (and may I add McKinley). and will 
guard, with sleepless vigilance, their mighty work and cherish 
their memories evermore." 

Rt. Rev. Algr. Thomas Griffin, D.D., then delivered the 
benediction as follows : 

In grief, in sorrow and in anguish we humbly prostrate before 
Thee, O omnipotent and merciful God ! as, on this day of our 
national affliction, we look into the open grave of the President 
of our beloved country. 

With love and confidence we have knelt before Thy throne 
imploring Thee to save the life of the chief magistrate. In the 
sunshine and shadow of the days of his suffering we turned to 
Thee with longing, and from grateful hearts poured out our 
thanks for the radiant promise of the convalescent life, and for 
the hope that was strengthened in us that he would be spared to 
lead his country to yet new and great triumphs. 

Alas ! that the kindled hope has been extinguished, and that 



48 William McKinley 

the President of this mighty repubHc should be borne to-day to 
an untimely grave ! Yet, we thank Thee, Lord, that his going 
forth has enriched us with the precious heritage of sublime 
resignation to Thy will and of Christian charity and forgiveness. 
"God's will be done." How beautiful are the words on his 
dying Ijps, and how sweetly tender and truly Christian the prayer 
of clemency and pardon — "Touch him not ! I forgive him !" — 
for the foolish and wretched man that sought his life. Fill Thy 
servants, O Lord, with the spirit of holy resignation. Be 
especially to her, the bereaved wife, whom the sword of sorrow 
has so deeply pierced, a refuge and strength. 

We pray Thee, O God, in behalf of Thy servant, whom, by the 
voice of the people. Thou hast called in Thy mysterious dispen- 
sation to preside over the destinies of this great nation, endow 
him with wisdom and prudence, clothe him with every virtue, 
put on him the armor of justice on the right hand and on the left, 
that all his actions may tend to the promotion of righteousness, 
of peace, of happiness and of prosperity. 

Give, O Lord God ! to the people of this nation a deeply- 
religious and abiding sense of Thy presence. Make them under- 
stand that "Thou alone art, and that there is no God but Thee." 
Open the eyes of the blind and foolish who do not see Thee, or 
who, in their wickedness, cry out that "there is no God." 

Inspire the parents, teachers and rulers of this land to teach 
and imbue the young with a knowledge of Thee and of Thy law, 
that they may be blessed in knowing Thee and sanctified in the 
observance of Thy commandments. 

And now, O Lord God! bless our country; lead it safely 
onward to the fulfillment of the destiny that Thou hast 
appointed. Be our firmament, our refuge, our helper, our pro- 
tector. Remove from us all pride and vainglory ; fill us with the 
spirit of humility, that we may regard ourselves only as Thy ser- 
vants and ready to ascribe all the good to Thee, to whom honor, 
praise, glory and benediction, forever and ever ! 

Not to us, O Lord ! not to us ; but to Thy name, give glory ! 

The exercises closed with the singing of "America" by the 
Festival chorus and the audience. 



The memorial exercises held at Mechanics Hall yesterday 
afternoon, on the occasion of the obsequies of the late President 
McKinley, will leave an ineffaceable remembrance in the minds 
of the thousands of people whose good fortune it was to be 
present. Besides the solemn splendor lent to the exercises by 
the superb rendering of funeral hymns by the grand chorus of 
the coming Music Festival, it is unquestionable that the speeches 
delivered upon this occasion will be remembered as among the 
most eloquent eulogies uttered in the whole country yesterday. 
The first speaker was our eminent fellow townsman, the vener- 
able Senator Hoar, who, while professing the greatest afifection 
for Mr. McKinley, has been the most vigorous opponent of his 
foreign policy. When Senator Hoar had finished his speech the 
vast gathering was so deeply touched that it forgot to applaud 
him. This is the best tribute it could pay to the eloquence of 
our "Grand Old Man." Less stirring perhaps, but none the less 
attentively listened to, was the speech of Dr. G. Stanley Hall, the 
President of Clark University, and one of the best known of 
American educators. As an orator it is undoubtedlv Monsignor 
Conaty, the rector of the Catholic University in Washington, 
who carried away the palm. Our former fellow townsman suc- 
ceeded in bringing out the fact that loyalty to country is in no 
wise diminished by differences of opinion in matters of religion. 
The last speaker was Mr. John R. Thayer, our Representative 
in Congress, who demonstrated that by the side of the Martyr- 
President's grave the political partisans had given way to citi- 
zens united in a common sorrow. To sum up, these memorial 
exercises were a veritable event, an event which will have its 
place in the history of the Heart of the Commonwealth, and the 
story of which will be handed down from father to son, and to 
son again. — Editorial from L'Opinion Publique, Sept. 20, 1901. 

The city of Worcester paid its tribute to-day to the memory of 
William McKinley, martyred President of the United States. 
It was a sincere, heartfelt tribute, not forced, but springing from 
the real and genuine sorrow of the people. 

Never in the history has there been such a general halt in the 
rush of city life. The thousands of wheels in the factories were 
still. In ofifice, store and public building all life was halted for 



50 William McKinley 

the day. Buildings stood in sombre black, relieved only by the 
flags at half-mast and the bits of national color draped about the 
pictures of the dead. Schools were closed and the city every- 
where was at a standstill. 

It seemed like a day of death. The spirit of grief was in the 
air, and there was a hush over the city that excelled even the 
quiet of the Sabbath day. Almost no one took the holiday pro- 
claimed by the President of the United States, the Governor of 
the State, and the Mayor of the city as a time for pleasure. The 
hours were given over to thoughts of the dead and hopes for the 
future. 

The booming of the cannon all day, and the tolling of the bells 
during the funeral hour were the only sounds to break in on the 
solemnity of the day. The day of the funeral of William 
McKinley will always be remembered as a sombre one by the 
adult, and a day full of impressions by the young. 

Worcester's greatest ceremonial for the public came at two 
o'clock this afternoon, when the exercises in Mechanics Hall 
were held. There 2500 gathered to hear the eulogies of the 
speakers of national reputation, the singing and the prayers. 
Thousands who could not gain admission to the hall were turned 
away. 

The Street Railway ordered all cars to run slowly by 
Mechanics Hall between the hours of two and four o'clock this 
afternoon, and not a gong was sounded. On the railroads 
freight trains were discontinued and no business except that 
most necessary was done. The Postal Telegraph Company 
silenced every wire in the land for five minutes this afternoon at 
2.30 o'clock. The police of Worcester ordered music and every- 
thing else calculated to disturb the quiet of the day from the 
streets. There was a hush everywhere. — Gazette, Sept. 19, 1901. 

Last Thursday, when President McKinley was buried, was 
most solemnly observed in the city as a day of great sorrowing. 
Factories and stores were closed, and the people expressed in 
reverent prayers to the Most High their sincere love and regard 
for their martyred President, and their great grief for his, 
humanly speaking, untimely death. There was a feeling of sad- 
ness all over the city such as is only met with when a people is 
lamenting the death of a sovereign who has given his life for his 
country. 

The memorial services were held in Mechanics Hall, where 
13,000 people endeavored to enter, but where only 3,000 were 
able to find seats or standing room. McKinley's favorite 
hymn, "Nearer, my God, to Thee," was sung, and those who 



A Memorial 



51 



were fortunate enough to get in had the privilege of Ustening to 
such eminent orators as Senator George F. Hoar, Rt. Rev. Mgr. 
Thomas J. Conaty, D.D., Dr. G. Stanley Hall, and Congress- 
man John R. Thayer. 

In the evening divine services were held in the churches all 
over the city. 

In Svea Gille's Hall a meeting was announced for 11 o'clock, 
and a good many members were present. The hall was beauti- 
fully decorated in black and white, and a large portrait of Presi- 
dent McKinley was placed on a speaker's tribune, erected for the 
occasion. Brage opened the memorial meeting by singing 
"Stridsbon," followed by orations by Rudolf Sundin and John P. 
Holmgren. The meeting closed by Brage singing "America." 
— From Svea, the illustrated Swedish weekly. 

The Heart of the Commonwealth throbbed with pain and sor- 
row yesterday, in common with every city and hamlet of the 
United States, as the dead body of their beloved President Wil- 
liam McKinley was borne to its last resting-place beside his 
parents in his Canton home. For a time it almost stopped beat- 
ting entirely, and nothing but the sobs of its sorrowing citizens 
was heard. Every-day activities were put aside, and none but 
those absolutely necessary to keep the pulse going were indulged 
in, especially between one and six o'clock in the afternoon. 
Never before in the history of the city was there such a general 
closing down of business. Even the drug stores, which are the 
last to close their doors even on Sundays, were shut. The 
countless thousands of busy wheels in the manufacturing dis- 
tricts were hushed in the presence of death, and the men and 
women who work over them gathered around the funeral bier of 
their dead and poured out their grief. 

The sombre black and white decorations on every hand were a 
striking evidence of the love the people of Worcester had for 
their President. Buildings were draped with the emblems of 
sorrow, windows were filled with them, and the people who 
walked the street wore buttons containing the portrait of the 
dead leader. Services in all the churches of the city were held in 
the morning, but the great tribute to McKinley's memory was 
paid at Mechanics Hall in the afternoon. It can safely be said 
that nowhere in the country was there a meeting that could com- 
pare to it. Nowhere was there a quartette of speakers that stand 
for so much that is good as the quartette that addressed the 
people who filled Mechanics Hall as it was never filled before. 

There have been political meetings in the hall that were 
largely attended, but there never was one that compared to the 



52 William McKinley 

gathering yesterday afternoon. There were no party hnes at that 
meeting. Men who only last fall applauded the denunciation of 
President McKinley's policy forgot all that and sat side by side 
with men who believed with the President and supported him 
loyally by voice and vote. Political policies were cast to the 
winds. Everybody united in doing honor to the memory of the 
dead leader. 

There was room for less than a third of the big throng in the 
hall, and it is estimated that nearly 3000 men and women took 
part in the exercises inside. One of the most touching happen- 
ings of the day was when the vast crowd sang, "Nearer, my God, 
to Thee," before the doors were opened. 

And such exercises ! No city throughout the broad land paid 
such a magnificent tribute to the . martyred President as did 
Worcester. On no platform in the country was there a quar- 
tette of speakers that could be compared to Worcester's. The 
mention of their names means eloquence, and in addition to their 
heartfelt tributes was the singing by the trained Worcester 
Music Festival chorus of over 200 voices. No man who had 
gone before had such eloquence and such music at his obsequies. 

United States Senator George F. Hoar, a close personal and 
political friend of the dead President; Rt. Rev. Monsignor 
Thomas J. Conaty, D.D., president of the Catholic University, 
at Washington, who stands for the best there is in Catholic 
education ^Dr. G. Stanley Hall, president of Clark University, 
with its international reputation for learning, and Congressman 
John R. Thayer, a political rival but ardent admirer of President 
McKinley, sounded his praises with an eloquence not equaled 
anywhere. 

Senator Hoar's tribute was pathetic in its earnestness, and 
when he nearly broke down, close to the end of his speech, 
where he quoted the President's last words, "Goodbye, all," the 
tremendous audience joined him and many handkerchiefs were 
brought into use. Dr. Hall's scholarly address discussed the ethi- 
cal side of the terrible crime that ended the President's life, and 
Congressman Thayer's fiery denunciation of anarchy met with a 
hearty response from his listeners. Without any disparagement 
of the others, it can be said that Monsignor Conaty's address 
had the greatest effect on the audience. He spoke of the dead 
President as a personal friend, viewed not from a political nor 
religious standpoint, but one who attracted by his goodness, one 
who knew no class nor creed, one who was the President of all 
the people. His clear, resonant voice reached the hearts of his 
auditors and made them beat faster as he called to mind in his 



A Memorial 53 



eloquent way the characteristics of the dead President that 
ought to be followed. 

Add to this eloquence of the four speakers the singing by the 
great Festival chorus, the soul-stirring music of 200 trained 
voices lifted in the President's favorite hymn and other solemn 
selections, the grand music of the big organ, and an occasional 
sound of the minute guns fired by Battery B, and an idea may be 
had of the solemnity of the exercises. It is not often that the 
solemnity of a funeral is broken by applause, but the feelings of 
the vast audience yesterday were so well voiced by the speakers 
that the people forgot the occasion and the addresses of all the 
speakers were interrupted by handcla])ping, especially the 
references to the unity of the country and the denunciation of 
anarchy. — Spy. 

Mechanics Hall, crowded with Worcester citizens, and flooded 
with oratory, ofYered this afternoon proof positive, if such proof 
were lacking, of the genuine nature of Worcester's sorrow for the 
loss of the nation's chief. 

With the words of praise for the dead chief's life, with the 
strains of sweet music, raised in his honor, sounding in their ears, 
that gathering of Worcester's sons and daughters, the most 
representative gathering brought together in this city in years, 
sat in sorrow this afternoon listening to the lessons drawn from 
that life mourned by all. 

From all quarters of the big Heart of the Commonwealth they 
came, representatives of all conditions, of all creeds, all social 
and civic barriers for the nonce brushed aside, that vast assem- 
blage sat shaken with sorrow at the bier of him whom a nation 
to-day laid to rest, and their tears mingled with those of that 
woman far away in Canton, O., who has forever bidden good-bye 
to an honest, upright man, a true American, a good President, 
and a loving husband. 

The doors of the big hall were not thrown open until one 
o'clock, but long before that hour a crowd had assembled at the 
main entrance. But big as was the throng, there was no uneasi- 
ness manifested, and the guard of thirty-two patrolmen and a 
sergeant stationed inside and out of the hall had little to do. No 
children were admitted to the hall, and no seats were reserved 
except those on the platform for the speakers and invited guests, 
those for the press, and 200 in the central division on the main 
floor for the members of George H. Ward Post, G. A. R., who 
were seated in a body. The Post met at headquarters and 
marched to the hall in a body. 

The big decorations of the hall were simple but efifective. On 



54 William McKinley 

the big organ-front hung a large picture of the dead President 
appropriately draped in black, while black streamers fell away to 
either side. The pictures of Garfield and Lincoln were also 
draped, and the balcony fronts were festooned with black. The 
front of the platform was heavily draped with black. 

The invited guests, including over lOO men prominent in the 
religious, civic, and business life of the city, occupied seats on the 
big platform, and behind them and at either side were the mem- 
bers of the big Festival chorus. The invited guests were met 
and escorted to their seats by a committee of ushers composed of 
Councilmen Power, Morrissey, Holden and Bigelow. The seat- 
ing of the people on the main floor was looked after by a com- 
mittee of eighteen young men, from the three high schools, six 
from each. This committee was under the direction of Princi- 
pals Lewis, Goodwin and Jackson. 

The speakers were Senator George F. Hoar, Dr. G. Stanley 
Hall, president of Clark University ; Rt. Rev. Mgr. Thomas J. 
Conaty, D.D., president of the Catholic University in Wash- 
ington, and Congressman John R. Thayer. 

All of the addresses, which will be found in another portion of 
this paper, were of the highest order and paid deserving tribute 
to the memory of the dead President. 

Mayor O'Connell as the presiding officer referred to Senator 
Hoar's close relationship with the dead President in introducing 
the principal speaker of the day, and he also fittingly referred to 
each of the other speakers as they were introduced. In opening 
the meeting the Mayor himself paid a high tribute to the memory 
of the dead President. — From the Worcester Post, Sept. 19, 
1901. 

There have been in Worcester services in memory of Lincoln 
and Garfield, but nothing has there ever been which equaled the 
demonstration of love and affection for the President of the 
United States shown in Mechanics Hall yesterday. Although 
every seat and every inch of standing room in the great hall was 
taken, there was not space for one-tenth of the people who would 
have liked to have joined in the service. 

Worcester was extremely fortunate in its speakers for the 
occasion. It is doubtful if at any other memorial meeting in the 
country there were brought together such men as said their 
words of eulogy and grief for the dead chieftain at yesterday 
afternoon's meeting. There were Senator George F. Hoar, Rt. 
Rev. Mgr. Thomas J. Conaty, D.D., Dr. G. Stanley Hall, and 
Congressman John R. Thayer, three of them men who are 



A Memorial 55 



known not only throughout this country, but in Europe ; the 
other the representative of the people in Congress. 

"President McKinley is dead, but the republic lives, and God 
rules over all." 

This sentence from the address of Monsignor Conaty was the 
keynote of the whole meeting. There was grief and sorrow for 
the beloved President, but there was nowhere a tone of hope- 
lessness. Beginning with the tender tribute of love by Senator 
Hoar, throughout the afternoon the addresses had the ring of 
true Americanism. At the close the chorus and audience joined 
in singing the national anthem, "xA.merica," and never before has 
that song been sung with a deeper feeling or patriotism. 

The memorial service w^as carried through without the 
slightest interruption. Everything took place as planned. If 
the closing exercises had been timed with the greatest care, they 
could not have been carried out at a more fitting moment. Just 
at the minute of 4.30 o'clock, the time for the body of the Presi- 
dent to be placed away in the tomb at Canton, the first notes of 
the closing song "America" were sounded, and as the mourners 
were going away from the Canton cemetery the Worcester 
mourners were leaving Mechanics Hall. — Telegram. 



NOV 7 1902 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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